African Union suspends Burkina Faso after military coup

Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, the head of a delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Burkina Faso, sits with the members of the delegation during a visit to the new military leader of Burkina Faso, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso January 31, 2022. Burkina Faso Presidency Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

The African Union has suspended Burkina Faso from all its activities in response to last week's military coup, effective until constitutional order is restored, the AU said on Monday.

Burkina Faso had already been suspended from the West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, though ECOWAS stopped short of imposing sanctions after the Jan. 24 coup that deposed President Roch Kabore.